Danger Ahead
by TheWeasleyBoys
Summary: He wanted the family to remain safe. She wanted to see if the family could grow by just one more. In time, they learned to help their needs blend together as one.


Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor do I own any of the characters found within said book. That honor belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and nobody else.

Author's Note: The following is a one-shot for the Just like Fate contest, and contains a little bit of actual book quotes at the very end. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Danger Ahead

_There are too many dangers ahead for us all._

These words continued to drum hard within Jasper's mind, even as he tried walking around the mansion to clear them out.

_Life has just become more dangerous, and it's all thanks to that girl and her obsession with 'true love'…_

The Cullen household had done well for themselves for many decades; moving gradually from one place to the next, keeping the truth of their species behind closed doors, and never giving too much information about themselves to strangers. Now, because of recent events, that lasting peace seemed doomed to shatter at any moment.

…_And, dare I say it, thanks to that foolish brother of mine and his need for a woman. I can just bet he never expected it to backfire upon him the way it's backfiring now…_

It was that annoyance of a Human girl, that bewitching Isabella Swan, who had captured Edward's heart and kept it ensnared in her frail, mortal hands. Because of her demands for protection and rescue even from the smallest dangers, the rest of the family was slowly being pushed out into the open, and thus made completely vulnerable to the wilder members of their race. Jasper barely resisted a snort of disgust at the mere thought of it all—Isabella, the weak, whiny, and eternally dependent, ready to throw herself into Edward's arms at the price of everyone else's safety for her own.

Never mind that her insufferable frailty could cost them all her lives. Never mind that Esme could be thrown from a similar rock from whence she'd originally came, a victim of murder instead of her own planned suicide. Never mind that Carlisle could be torn to ribbons with no hope of corrective surgery, healing, or other physical repair normally at his fingertips. Never mind that Rosalie could bleed to death for real this time around, nor that Emmet could be harmed by more violent things than angry bears, nor that Edward himself could suffer a fate worse than the deadly effects of any disease.

Never mind, either, that all sorts of unspeakable acts could be performed upon Alice; none of them ideas that Jasper dared to mention out loud. Instead, each sordid situation crossed his mind one by one—Alice torn in half by the nomadic vampires, Alice burned alive by the vengeful werewolves, Alice horribly maimed by either side and made to carry her own eyes in her hands, a gruesome mockery of one of her immortal gifts. And if any of these nightmares came to pass, he'd have to encounter still one more—his slow descent back into darkness. If that girl came one step too close to him, or started to bleed enough from any injury for him to sense it, then he would go straight back to feeding upon humans on the spot.

_Curse them! Curse them both!_

He'd impulsively sent his left fist slamming into the wall beside him, an action that left a flood of plaster in its wake as well as his hand coming out on the other side. He was quick to pull the hand back, but not before hearing a familiar set of footsteps upon the floorboards.

"I can tell your temper's digressed again, Jasper."

The sound of her voice was all too familiar to him, and yet at the same time, he feared of this being the last day he would ever hear it.

"Your temper's digressed, your mind is troubled, and you fear for everyone's life…"

With a few graceful steps, Alice was now standing only a few inches away from him, one hand poised to brush his golden hair away from his forehead.

"…But most of all, I can tell you fear for yourself and the return of your primitive impulses. Am I right?"

"You know far too much about me," he murmured, taking a gentle hold of her hand and pressing it against his cheek.

"I've been with you far too long to not know," she replied, tracing his pale skin with the back of a finger. "You see Bella's presence here as too much of a threat; and you're afraid of what it will mean for the rest of us."

"She asks too many questions about who we are and what we are."

"She asks because she is interested, and eager to learn whatever she can to treat us the right way."

"Does the right way include exposing us to the rest of the world, and leaving us to be butchered where we stand?"

One set of golden eyes locked upon the other as the two stood at a verbal standoff; each of them not wishing to start an argument, but also not knowing how to avoid one at the same time. For a few minutes, neither Alice nor Jasper dared to speak up, lest one of them say the wrong thing and upset the other.

Finally, Alice took a tiny step backward, both hands clasped in front of her as she let in a deep breath.

"Jasper, I…I'm sorry that this situation worries you so much, and I'm sorry that I've been encouraging it."

He took a small, hesitant step towards her in reply. "How?"

"By becoming too excited over Edward's discovery of a companion. I know how important it is to keep this family safe, and believe me, I want nothing else than to help it stay that way."

She moved forward by a single step, reducing a little of the distance between them.

"At the same time, however…I've learned all about how horrible it can be without a family surrounding you. We both have. Each of us has the others of our kind to rely on, but of course…sometimes, we also need a little bit more than that. Edward might not be the only one who's waited for someone like Bella to come along."

"What do you mean?"

In spite of his cooled temper, Jasper felt some confusion flaring up inside of him.

"Are Esme and Rosalie not company enough for you? Am I not—"

"—It's no fault of yours that I feel this way; nor is it theirs."

Her left hand began to inch slowly towards his right.

"Perhaps it's entirely my fault, and perhaps it's no one's fault at all—but when I first heard Edward talking about her, I couldn't help but wonder if she could become a sister to me, as well as a wife to him."

The truth of her words made Jasper's eyes narrow in thought. "I see."

"It could work, you know…between her and the rest of us. If we keep our minds open and our worries to a minimum, we might become acquainted faster than we originally expected."

"Why are you saying these things to me, and not to Carlisle?"

"Because she's on her way, Jasper. She's coming to this house as we speak."

"_Wonderful_."

He glanced briefly at the staircase before returning his attention to Alice.

"Was she alone?"

"Well, I saw Edward with her…"

"Yes, I know that. Were there any others following them?"

"No," Alice said calmly. "No, there were just the two of them. I saw no one else."

"All right."

Before the two of them could speak any further, they heard the familiar

sound of a door opening downstairs, followed by two sets of footsteps walking inside—one normal and rhythmic, the other almost silent. A few seconds later, the voices of Carlisle, Esme, Bella, and Edward could be heard from the ground floor.

"Alice, when it's time for us to meet this girl…if I'm not entirely in control of myself…"

She only had to slip her hand into his own for him to receive his answer. Even though their touch remained cold and seemingly lifeless, it was all each of them needed to stay strong for the other.

"It's time for us to go say hello."

"After you, ma'am."

One moment afterward, the two of them had gone straight to the top of the staircase where Bella and Edward could see them. The time for introductions had finally arrived.

"Hey, Edward!"

Jasper watched in silence as Alice first glided down the stairs to meet them; then took a few more steps to give the girl a welcoming kiss. So far, the newcomer had allowed Edward to speak first, she had not interrupted Esme or Carlisle's greetings, and finally, she had been polite enough to even accept his wife's straightforward behavior. Some girls might have been a little more flighty in Isabella Swan's place, but that didn't matter now—once he'd calmed the last of his nerves, he was at the bottom of the staircase in a heartbeat, taking careful notice of the relaxed look in her eyes.

"Hello, Bella."

If first impressions were the most important, then perhaps this newcomer wasn't so dangerous after all.


End file.
